Endurance
by MysteriousMagicalMuse
Summary: Percy Weasley was seventeen when his life changed forever. Now Percy and Penelope are enduring the trials and tribulations of a world on the brink of war. Will their love withstand the obstacles placed in their path? Begins PoA through to after DH
1. Prefect to parent

I've decided to explore a different sort story centred around the relationship of Percy Weasley and Penelope Clearwater. It starts in the Prisoner of Azkaban and expands across the four years to the Deathly Hallows. I wanted to investigate all the elements of Percy's character and what would happened when he faced a challenge that did not involve NEWTs or test scores. Also I thought it interesting to have Percy participate in an act that many teenage boys do but unfortunately for him he faces the consequences. Hopefully it adds a bit more humility to his charater for he isn't a completely dislikeable pompous:) Anyway , I hope you all enjoy and review.

Penelope Clearwater was waiting nervously outside the Gryffindor portrait. The Fat Lady was eying her suspiciously as she paced in circles outside the common room.

"Please M'am , am I not allowed in for five minutes? It's incredibly important" Penelope implored. The fat lady wore an aghast look on her face and snapped "You believe that I open upon request for a student from another house? Such insolence. What do you take me for? A common portrait? " the Fat Lady snapped incredulously. " It is my duty to protect the students of this house , which begins with me only opening when presented with a password!" The Fat Lady continued to scold Penelope , agitated by her apparent expectation of extra privileges due to her prefect status. Penelope felt tears well in her eyes , as she walked towards the window next to the Fat Lady's portrait hole and stared out at the Hogwarts grounds. They were reminiscent of a delicate illustration out of one her beautiful Muggle fairy tale books she had adored when she was a little girl. The luscious green grass , the immaculate blue sky and the shimmering lake had always evoked a sense of freedom and peace within Penelope. However today the bars of the windows were more conspicuous than usual and Penelope felt completely trapped. She inhaled a deep , sharp breath and continued to stair out the window in an attempt to suppress the tears welling in her eyes.

"Penny?" called out a familiar voice. Penelope turned around , letting the tears freely fall. "Perce , oh thank god it's you" Penelope gasped in a hysterical manner and ran into his arms. Percy Weasley was taken aback by the Penelope's dramatic display of emotion. Penelope was usually so calm and quite in control of her emotions , not that she was without feeling but she was unlike the other sixth years who were constantly in tears because of a fight with a boyfriend and a low grade on a Potions assignment.. Percy on the other hand although he was a kind hearted boy often lacked the confidence and even the skill to comfort his friends , let alone his girlfriend. It was an answer that not even the most advanced spellbook could provide. "P-P-Penny dear , what's wrong?" Percy hands were now firmly gripping Penelope's shoulders and his green grey eyes narrowed as he tried to inspect Penelope's face in case she showed a sign of any illness. Penelope's brown eyes looked into Percy's green eyes hoping she would be able to amount some courage to tell him her debacle . The concerned look in Percy's eyes however only caused her crying to intensify. "Oh Perce , I'm so sorry" "Sorry about what Penny? Oh no you haven't cheated on an assignment have you?" "Oh god Perce , it's worse then that". "Oh Dear , Penny you've not snuck out to the Three Broomsticks on a Friday night have you? Oh no Penny , I thought you had more sense than that…" "Oh Perce you git , it's much more serious than that. Listen , we need to talk…….but not here" she lowered her voice. Groups of Gryffindors were emerging from the common room making their way down to the Great Hall for breakfast. Penelope grabbed Percy's hand and ran down the corridor from Gryffindor Tower and turned into the Charms Corridor which was always deserted come breakfast time. "Really Penny , this behavior is quite over the top. Now I understand you may be quite nervous about the up coming Quidditch match but I assure you that I wo-" "Percy I think I'm pregnant". Whatever Percy had been expecting, it had not been that.

"P-P-Penny?" Percy was now extremely pale and his eyes exceptionally wide. Penelope had no idea what to say. She was sixteen , not even of age and in all probability carrying her seventeen year old boyfriend's child not only were they stuck in a situation which could get them both suspended , or even expelled from school , they were by no means ready to raise a child. Penelope cast an ashamed glance at Percy , who seemed to have become paralyzed . After what felt like an age , Percy found his voice. "And you're quite sure about this Penny?" Percy asked weakly. Penelope scrunched up her eyes and nodded. "Remember , how we er….well you know on our anniversary and well I'm a few weeks late". Shocked was not the right word to describe the diverse range of emotions running through him. He was petrified of the punishment they would receive from their head of houses for inappropriate fraternization but this was a much less terrifying fate then the reaction of Mrs Weasley.

"Oh Perce , what am I going to do" wailed Penelope choking on tears. "No , what are we going to do about it?" said Percy a lot more boldly then he felt. Penelope looked at him shocked. "Y-y-you wanna help out and be around?" Penelope was in shock. Percy smiled weakly at her and put his arm around her. "Penny , we're in this together and it was equally my fault as yours. Though I can't help feeling entirely responsible as Headboy I should've known not to act so …. Impulsively and you're so young." "Hey I'm only eight months younger then you" Penelope teased regaining a bit of her spark. Percy smiled and kissed her forehead. "However" he announced regaining his usual dignified composure "We should go to the Healer's Hut down in Hogsmeade next visit and make sure everything is in order and we'll have to….tell…our parents and then of course the school" Penelope nodded seriously. "Of course , perhaps we should go to Dumbledore". Percy winced. _Dumbledore? _After bestowing Percy with such a responsibility and having great faith and trust in him , would Dumbledore be disappointed in Percy for behaving so irrationally? "Listen , I have a spare period after breakfast , it's probably best to get it over and done with as soon as possible" said Penelope decidedly more confident that she had Percy's support.. In the pit of his stomach Percy felt very ill but knew that Penelope was right. "I was meant to petrol the corridor but I can get Kenneth to cover for me". Penelope smiled and gently slid her hand into Percy's and laced her fingers around his. "We're in this together right?" she asked. "We deal with this together forever" Percy grinned at her. It was an old sentiment he had used since they first began going out. Penelope beamed , her distraught mood from the morning vanished as she worked to breakfast with Percy.

Thanks for reading the first character , I hope it was not too soppy for you all. I like to think that Percy would be quite the gentleman and take full responsibility for his actions:)

Reviews are always much appreciated. Please only constructive criticism. If you utterly despise my work , please just discontinue reading it , instead of saying how bad it is:)

Stay tuned for the next chapter

Love M


	2. Belief in who?

Special thanks to forevermagic (the lovely Bec:)) and Omniskriba for reviewing. It really means alot. Sorry about the wait for chapter two and I hope you enjoy it.

Penny gazed out the open window not knowing what time she could expect her husband back. The cold breeze gently caressed her skin , as she tried not to cry. Percy's departure two hours ago had not been a pleasant one and due to Percy's erratic behaviour over the past couple of weeks , Penny's anxiety about Percy's only deepened. He had changed over the past month , ever since his promotion to Junior Secretary to The Minister of Magic , Percy's temper had gotten shorter and he had adopted a rather aggressive manner of stating his opinions (or as Penelope was inclined to think Fudge's opinions echoing through her husband) on the current political climate of the wizarding world in Britain. Harry Potter was now a common conversation in the Weasley household and was the cause of the debacle , some two hours earlier.

_Earlier that night…._

"Penny , we have all the evidence that Potter is an attention seeker . One taste of glory was not enough , he had to make up some cock and bull story to seem like even more of a hero. Quite deranged really if you ask me, I mean he'd just won the Triwizard Tournament and he was using poor Diggory's death in some grand fantasy about battling You Know Who…."

"Perce , that's completely out of order and you know it. You were believing him a month ago , why not now? The poor kid watched his classmate die" Penny's last words were muffled due to her suppressing a sob within her throat. She had been at school with Cedric until she was pregnant with Margarite. Though not the closest of friends , they were partners in NEWT Potions and often worked with each other in Herbology.

"I…" she stopped to gather her thoughts and allow time for her emotions to calm .

She raised her head and looked Percy directly in the eye , the once warm and bright eyes had become red rimmed and cold. Penny knew what she was about to say was treading in dangerous territory but she adamant that Percy listen to what she had to say.

"A month ago Harry was a hero for confronting You-Know-Who in that graveyard and it was incredibly brave and noble that he brought Cedric's body back .I-I think that Fudge is scared that he w-won't….he c-can't …..that he does not have the resources to challenge You Know Who at full strength. Perce , Harry's a scapegoat and he is your brother's best friend. Your parents treat him like one of their own…."

"And he has leeched off my mother's simple mind and kind heart and my father's naivety for too long. Ron is so impressionable too , of course they all marvel at the great Harry Potter. Dumbledore's pet , I mean what's to say all this time , Dumbledore has been entirely correct about his assumptions with Potter and You Know Who"

"Percy , you keep making these fascinating allusions but then reminding me its strictly "Ministry Buisness" , so I can neither confirm , contradict or even give an opinion" snapped Penny , whose own temper was beginning to rise due to Percy's pig headedness.

"How dare you Penelope Anne" spat Percy incredulously as if he was scolding an insolent child. "The Minister has been so kind to us. My job is able to give us a reasonable home to live in and allows me to provide for a family. He is doing his best to avoid complete hysteria over rumours and yet you side with the instigator of such rumours. Is this to spite me? Because I am the one out working? Listen I know you wanted to be healer and when Maggie is older you can still aspire for it."

"Percy have you been listening to yourself?" Penny asked exasperatedly. "Spending time with Maggie is one of the best parts of me day. Of course I don't care about that! Have you not fathomed that you have just shown outright disrespect to your parents. After all they've done for us , not to mention you talk about Cedric Diggory as if he …..as if he is some sort of possession you are fighting with Harry Potter over. He was seventeen when he died! Where's your compassion?"

"ENOUGH!" Percy yelled , his face glowering a dangerous red which was beginning to creep up to his ears. He slammed his fist and the table and Penny gasped at an enraged Percy. "Do you question the father of your child? Do you go against me , because of an apathetic complacency in your trust in an old crack pot wizard?" Percy uttered every syllable with a bitter edge , his eyes flashing angrily at Penny. Penny was gasping deeply , heavily shaken by Percy's outburst. "P-Perce…." Penelope was interrupted by the sound of a crying baby. Percy looked in her eyes daring her to challenge him , the malicious dare caused Penny's eyes to mist. "I-I've got to go and check on Margarite" she said softly , hr arms falling limply by her side. Penny ran into the Margarite's nursery and picked up the crying baby and held her close to her chest ,letting her own long , dark hair conceal them. "Shhh Maggie , it's okay. Oh sweetheart , its okay Daddy's not angry with you. It's alright , Mummy's here" she soothed the her six month old daughter. Maggie's cries became softer until they ceased , allowing Penny to sit down and stop the gentle bouncing of daughter. As she sat in the rocking chair , she looked at her daughters blue eyes. _You have your Dad's eyes_ she thought and smiled.

There was a gentle knock at the door. Percy 's expression was indeed the opposite of the horrid smirk he had worn in the kitchen. He peered sheepishly at the mother and daughter.

"Is she okay?" he whispered. Penny smiled "She's fine"

"Percy let out a relieved sigh and smiled "Good.".

"Listen Penny ….I-I" he reached out a long arm and firmly grasped her shoulder. Penny clutched his hand with her free one. He looked sadly into her eyes and then at his feet.

"I have to go and do some things and I don't know when I'll be back"

"What? No-no Perce , you don't need to do this. I'm sorry for what I said…"

"No" Percy interrupted her firmly. "I don't know how long I'll be…..but I can promise I'll be back.

For a moment he gazed solemnly into her eyes. She yearned to reach out and hold his face. She wanted to slap him for his ludicrous trust in Fudge and his arrogance. She desired to kiss Percy with all her might. But the moment was all too quick and with a quick swish of his cloak Percy stalked out of the room leaving Penelope with her thoughts.

_Present moment._

Penny had fallen asleep in Maggie's room. She was tired from nursing her baby who was indeed troubled by her parent's argument , and had cried for thirty five minutes of each hour since Percy had stormed off. Unknown to his slumbering fiancée , Percy apparated into Maggie's room. He walked over to Penny and gently kissed her forehead. Feeling the fatigue encroach upon him , Percy walked out of the room to his own bed.

Well I hope you all enjoyed it. Please review and I'll try and get chapter 3 up soon:).

Cheers

M


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